Recommended Posts

I've redone my 1257 a long while back and use it only for plowing the driveway. I have a sickle bar I restored and have installed once but don't plan on using it due to how rare they are.

I know there's a ton of attachments for these awesome red beauties. I love my 1257 and never want it to bust or break on me. My questions are how much can a tractor like mine take? As in rear end pulling or pushing, weight, like how much pushing and pulling can a rear end and frame do til making a "boo-boo"? Just curious is all... not that I'll ever put a 50 year old tractor to a test I put too much money and time into it. Just a driveway plow.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

My Raider ten was a snow plow tractor in its previous life. The Woodruff Key slots in the axles wallowed out pretty badly. Bad enough that the tractor would lurch forward in a sort of free fall for about a foot until the key flopped over in the slot..

The little guy mowed a lot of grass until I discovered the exact cause, because i thought it was something in the transmission internals

2

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Hey Ohiofarmer.....I wallowed out the crankshaft woodruff key slot on a 1998 ford escort wagon. To fix it, I fitted in a new woodruff key and filled in the wallowed out areas on either side of the key with JB weld and once the jb weld was cured (24 hours) I filled off any roughness and reinstalled the harmonic balancer pulley and timing belt... That was 90, 000 miles ago. If it works on a crankshaft in a car ,I bet it would work on the axle shafts of a horse. Worth a shot.

2

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Hey Ohiofarmer.....I wallowed out the crankshaft woodruff key slot on a 1998 ford escort wagon. To fix it, I fitted in a new woodruff key and filled in the wallowed out areas on either side of the key with JB weld and once the jb weld was cured (24 hours) I filled off any roughness and reinstalled the harmonic balancer pulley and timing belt... That was 90, 000 miles ago. If it works on a crankshaft in a car ,I bet it would work on the axle shafts of a horse. Worth a shot.

That JB Weld is some interesting stuff for sure... used it a few times for who-knows-what.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Just to chime in that ramming snow piles isn’t the only thing that breaks frames...

There’s no doubt that ramming things with the snow plow is cause for concern to the transaxle mounting plate, but I’ve parted out several tractors - especially 520h’s - that had broken and torn plates and which showed no signs of ever being wearing a plow. Worst break I ever saw was on a 312h that only ever mowed and carried a front mount generator. That tractor was held together only by the sheet metal tunnel and belt guard and the owner was none the wiser.

Sometimes the welds let go. Sometimes the four little bolts work their way through the plate. Sometimes the plate cracks (as pictured )and rips apart...That’s what happened on the 312.

The Combined weight of engine, implement, and - to a lesser extent - operator are conspiring at all times to break that plate over every bump. The 60” mower in particular is a killer...combine that with a hefty operator and you got the recipe for trouble my friends, right here in river city.

Of course, you won’t be hanging a 60-incher under your oldie.

Wheel Horse reinforced the mounting plate somewhere along the line, and even sold a reinforcement plate to help in that area. The D-series and 5xi’s went to full-length frames to get rid of the problem for good.

That said, the vast majority of these tractors never suffer a broken frame...so if you drive your tractor like a reasonable person there’s not many tasks you should be afraid to put up against it. Like others have said, you’ll usually run out of traction before you can do any real damage. Although I do recall the legendary Dale from MI ballasted a tractor so heavily that he broke an axle...

Work it as hard as you dare. They were built to mostly take it.

Steve

Edited January 24 by wh500special

4

1

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

I'm guilty as charged - I've beat that poor 1277 to a pulp since the first day I drug it's tired carcass home, she's always been a worker and sure shows it badly. Frame has been repaired 2 times, this time the whole rear section has to be changed out - and it will get beefed enough not to happen again, ever. I do like the full-frame design on the D's - that was the way they all should have been built but it is amazing what they will do before giving up. Mine has pulled so much weight it's actually broken brand new belts - that bad rap that the Sundstrands got was never deserved, mine was as solid as they get and still is despite a lot of hard abuse - it shows no signs of slowing down either and I'm not afraid to put it right back to heavy work once I repair the frame. I wish they would have better addressed both the pump coupling and rear axles in those D's - they would have been an ultimate machine that could embarrass even the best of today's offerings. Honestly, I don't think there's any reason not to work an old Horse - it's all easily repaired and documented all over the place so anyone can tackle it given some effort. I love a well-restored tractor as much as anyone - but if they take up residence here they are gonna get worked - and mostly likely worked pretty hard...

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Here's my '96 3/12. Has the factory reinforced frame plate. 3/4" x 3/16" bar welded and drilled for bottom bolts. This tractor plows now but for its first 20 years wore a 300lb 44" snowblower in the winter

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

I broke my C160 with a 12" moldboard plow in a clay garden spot trying to lift it so it could get traction to keep going. I also have a 12 horse frame broken by a midmount blade so I know they will take a lot of punishment, but even the best will fail with abuse.